Young composers find voices in 'Romeo and Juliet' for Great Lakes Theater's 'Bardstock' contest

View full sizeRoger MastroianniThe expert swordsman Tybalt (actor, Dan Lawrence, left) threatens a family adversary (actor, Casey Cott, in clutches) as Capulet (actor, Aled Davies, right) and Lady Capulet (actor, Laura Perrotta, far right) attempt to end the scuffle in the Great Lakes Theater production of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," on stage at the Hanna Theatre in Playhouse Square through April 28.

"In fourth grade, I went through a little bit of an issue with a girl in my class" said Lexi Clegg, one of five grand-prize winners in this year's Bardstock songwriting contest staged by Great Lakes Theater.

The song she wrote at the time, she said, "was called 'Friends Till the End,' but I don't remember most of it. That's when it all started."

Lexi can be forgiven for not being able to remember her tune. After all, fourth grade was THREE WHOLE GRADES AGO.

For Daniel Hahn, education director at Great Lakes, Lexi and the other winners -- Alex Berko, the group InTandum, Keifer Wiley and Maria DiDonato -- represent true success stories. The five were chosen from 83 entrants. (Click on each name to see what the winners had to say about their selection, their music and themselves.)

"It gives student artists another entry point to explore a great classic play," said Hahn. This year's installment is a tie-in with "Romeo and Juliet," on the boards through Saturday at the Hanna Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.

"We're always looking for ways to engage students in classic literature that we may not have originally thought of."

The best ideas do seem to come from kids. As a matter of fact, the idea for the now-10-year-old Bardstock program itself came from kids.

A few actors in the troupe's outreach program brought a performance -- coincidentally, scenes from "Romeo and Juliet" -- to Ravenna High School. It inspired the students there to write a song.

"I have it on a VHS tape somewhere," Hahn said. "That percolated in the back of our minds, and Todd [Krispinsky, Great Lakes marketing and public relations director] had the idea to do a songwriting contest."

This year's installment ends a two-year hiatus . . . and comes just in time for Lexi.

View full sizeJosh Gunter,The Plain DealerLexi Clegg is the youngest recipient of a Bardstock grand prize. The Laurel School seventh-grader penned a tune called "All Eternity.''

"Just because of my love of music and performing, I thought, 'Well, why not? I might as well enter it and see what happens,' " said the Laurel School student. "And obviously it went pretty well."

Lexi is no stranger to writing, dating back to that fourth-grade experience. Mainly, she works on guitar -- and wants to sing her own songs.

"I'm a singer who writes, definitely," Lexi said, emphasizing that only a singer who is crooning her own songs can truly "get" what they mean.

"If you honestly don't know what the song is about, don't sing it," she said. "And if you're not going to sing it well, don't sing."

One of the perks for the grand-prize winners -- in addition to the $250 each received -- was the chance to record their work in the professional studios of Bardstock partner WCPN FM/90.3. Great Lakes will share the sounds on its website, greatlakestheater.org, with a link to WCPN, which will air the music Monday.

"That was the first time I've ever really gone into the studio," Lexi said. "It was almost surreal, like, putting the headphones on and having a $14,000 mike in front of you, and you're, like, 'Omigosh! Omigosh! How am I going to do this?' "

Each young artist will receive a CD, though none will be pressed for sale.

"We're not trying to make money off these kids' music," Hahn said.

For Lexi, "The headphones were the fun part of it. Since you're hearing yourself . . . the sound is right in your ears. It's, like, your conscience."

OK, but writing about Shakespeare? A 12-year-old?

"Since everyone knew the story, like, it wasn't that hard to comprehend," said Lexi, who revealed that Taylor Swift is one of her role models. "Last year, we read 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' so it's not like I've never read Shakespeare before."

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